A Californian company has made a sci-fi dream a reality, by creating a hub to control all smart devices found in the home, potentially saving people time and energy expended on menial tasks.

Ivee’s Sleek is essentially a HAL for the home that lets users control internet-connected devices from a single place, much like the HAL 9000 computer imagined by Arthur C Clarke in his Space Odyssey series.

More than 60 years later, engineers have created the device, which uses artificial intelligence to read a user’s voice – much like Apple’s Siri – to control a host of hi-tech home devices.

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The Ivee Sleek uses artificial intelligence to read a user's voice - much like Apple's Siri - to control a host of hi-tech home devices

IVEE SLEEK SPECIFICATIONS

Built-in Rechargeable Battery to back up time, date, and alarms

ARM9 400 MHz Processor

128MB Memory

256MB Flash Storage

TFT LCD 4.3 inch Display

Dual Beam Forming Microphones

Hi-Fi 45mm Speaker

Temperature Sensor

Light Sensor

Embedded Linux operating system

Ivee's Sleek is connected to a home Wi-Fi network and users can add gadgets connected to the internet via a web dashboard.

The device, which costs $229 (£144), claims to be the first Wi-Fi voice-activated assistant for the home, which helps individuals manage and control their devices, as well as set reminders.

The company said: 'Our goal is to create a simpler and more natural way of interfacing with the internet and your smart home.'

To give the hub a command, a user must first say 'hello Ivee' and the device will then listen for verbal clues when a person starts to talk - turning their words into actions.

A beam-forming microphone array cancels ambient noise and makes it possible for a person to talk to Ivee from up to 15 feet away.

When the hub hears a voice command, it sends an audio file to AT&T¿s ¿Watson¿ language-processing server, which converts the signal to text. The Sleek then scans for keywords to work out the action it should perform

The device, which costs $229 (£144) claims to be the first Wi-Fi voice-activated assistant for the home, which helps individuals manage and control their devices

Ivee's Sleek is much like the HAL 9000 (pictured) computer imagined by Arthur C Clarke in his Space Odyssey series

When the hub hears a voice command, it sends an audio file to AT&T’s ‘Watson’ language-processing server, which converts the signal to text.

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The Sleek then scans for keywords to work out the action it should perform.

A person might want to set a reminder, by saying something like 'remind me to pick up the kids from school at 2.45' and the device can text them their memo on-the-go, or they can control devices by saying: 'set the thermostat to 71 degrees'.

A person might want to set a reminder and they can talk to the device, which will send a text message with the contents of their memo (pictured)

To give the hub a command, a user must first say 'hello Ivee' and the device will then listen for clues when a person starts to talk. If they ask the machine to 'clean up,' it can contact a smart vacuum cleaner to carry out the desired action (pictured)

The hub is designed to be placed near a bed as it also functions as an alarm clock and displays live content, such as the weather, stocks and news.

It also reads bedtime stories and can play relaxing noises until an individual falls asleep.

While it is only compatible with a handful of internet-connected devices at the moment, the engineers are constantly revamping the Sleek's software and say it ‘gets smarter and more capable over time’.

The device is connected to a home Wi-Fi network and users can add gadgets connected to the internet, via a web dashboard (pictured)

The hub is designed to be placed near a bed as it also functions as an alarm clock and displays live content, such as the weather (pictured) stocks and news

The company has made Ivee as 'open as possible' by enabling developers to build on top of its voice programme, to allow computer-savvy people to add extra functions to the hub.

The company said the device could be especially helpful for people who are visually impaired or who struggle with computer interaction.

While it is only compatible with a handful of devices at the moment, the engineers are constantly revamping the Ivee Sleek's software and say it 'gets smarter and more capable over time'. Here, a woman uses the hub to control lighting